Electrical-circuit protector.



1%, WIESINGER.

ELEGTRIGAL CIRCUIT PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 13110.29, 1903.

Patented Jan. 11, 1910 [/1126/ f imam 2 2 SHEBTSSHEET 1.

* QlEEAl R. WIESINGER. ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT PROTECTORJ APPLICATION FILEDDEC.29,1903.

UNITED STATES OFFICE- mam) WIESINGER, or ADRIAN, MICHIGAN, Assrenon 'roWILLIAMQ- Naomi, or

. TOLEDO, OHIO. V

ELECTRICAL-CIRCUIT rao'rno'roa 7 Specification of Letters'latent.Patented Jan, 11, 1910. Application filed December 29, 1903. Serial N6.187,029.

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it knownthat I, RICHARD Wmsrnonn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Adrian, in the county of Lenawee and State of Michigan, haveinvented a certain newaud useful Improvement in Electrical-CircuitProtectors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart ofthis specifica tron. r

- My invention relates to apparatus for protecting electrical circuitssuch as. telephone, police telegraph, fire alarm-and the like from theinjurious effects of unduly strong cur rents such as are likely toescape from power and lighting circuits.

-Prominent objects of the invention are to provide a simple, practicaland 1nexpeusire-device of this kind; andto avoid the necessity of havingto repair or replace the same or any of its parts after operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view partly inelevationa-ndpartly in section, of a portion of protective apparatusadapted for use at a central exchange, embodying my present invention;Fig. is a plan view of a portion ofthe same; Fig. .3

is a plan view of a protective device embodying my invention, adaptedfor use-at an outlying or subscribers station; Fig: 4-- is a crosssection taken on line H inFig. :3; Fig. 5 is a diagrammaticview showinga telephone system protected by protectors embmlying-my presentinvention; Fig.6 is a diagrammatic view of a modified form ofconstruction. Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2,1 is. a

' vertically arranged flat standard or upright on which the variousprotective devices are mounted inbank at a central exchange. Two blocks2, 2- inadeof insulating material, 2 are shown secured to the oppositesides of the upright 1. Each of these blocks supports a protectivedevice embodying my present invention, and as these are the same,

a description of one will suffice for both. i

are understood to come from the switch' The block" is provided withthree clips 3, 1

and 5 onfits upper face, and three similar i and project a shortdistance into the in-, terior of the cylinder 8. solder 14 is confinedin thecylinder 8 and under normal conditions is maintained in theupper'end, of the cylinder by engaging with the projecting ends of thepins 10, 11,

1 12 and 13. A coil ofwire 15 is'wound aboutthe cylinder .8. and has itsopposite ends conand 3 are wider thanthe other clips,'aind shown inFighQ, so that when the barrel cartridge is inserted between the clipsas nect with the clip 3; the pin 11'is between the clips 3 and 4; thepin 12 is in contact with the. clip at; and the rod 9 in contact devicethe clip 3 is in contactwith the rod 9 and pin 10".; the clip 4;. withthe pin 11; and the clip 5" with the pin 13. The device thusconstructedis arranged .asshown, one on each side ofthe upright 1, andother d-e' this upright in bank to any desired number.

The individual device-,.that isthe one intended" for use at, theol'itlying' or' sub l scribers station,'is shown in Figs. 3 and i 4.This device has a base'B provided with: an upright 16 to which issecured an in .sulating block 17. Two sets of clips similar to thosepreviously described in connection with the bank apparatus, are securedto the These two a telephone circuit in Fig. in this figure are showntwocondncto'rs l8 and 1!) which board of the exchange. They run to twoprotective devices 6) and C at the exchange, i which devidesareiunderstood to-be a pair of protectors such. as previously describedand shown in .1 and 2. conveniently This'cartridge' com prises'upper andlower the latterar'e tapered at their ends, all as shown in Fig. 1, therod 9? and pin 10 com with the clip 5. And at the lower end of the upperand lower faces of the block devices are shown connectedun disks orheads towhich-they areapplied, I

A quantity of nccted with the rods 9 and 9 The clips 3 vices of the samesort are arranged-upon l mounted on opposite sides t an upright 1' Lconductors 23, 24 with clips 4:, 4 of the del.

" 31 being formed in part by the ground con-- 3o Under ordinaryconditions the two sides of I with the inner surface of the cylinder 8,

for opposite sides "of the same circuit.- These conductors 18 and 19areiconnected 4 with the clips4 4 (Figs. land 2) ofthe two-protectivedevices 0 and C, so that these clips may be said to be connected withthe instrument. Line wires 20 andfll are extended from the twoprotective, devices toa subscribers station where they are connectedwith the clips 5, 5 of two protective devices D, D, which together forman individualprotective device such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Theseline wires 20 and-21 are desirably provided vith fuses 22, 22 which itwill be. seenare between the two protective devicesand therefore-outsideof each set. A tclephoneE is shown at the subscribers station, and isconnected bv '-vices.D, D The clips 4*, 4* of the devices D, DIareconnected by conductors 25, '26 with "ground. The clips 43, 4 of the de-5 vices C, C at the central station, are con- 'nected by conductors27,428 -witlnground, and the clips 5; 5 of these" devices are' connectedby conductors 29 and 30 with an alarm circuit'31', having an alarmdevice i 32"ai1d local battery 33, the alarm circuit nection 28. Thecircuit and device connected up in this way operate as follows.

the subscribers circuit are made continuous through the two sets ofprotective devices, the mass oft-solder -let-being in an. uppermost.position in each protective device, and forming connections between thevarious pins at the tops of thedevices. For instance, referring to Fig.1, the circuit is made from the conductor connected with the clip 5,which on reference to Fig. 5 will be seen to be the line wire 20; fromsaid clip 5-to the rod 9-; thence through thecoil to the rod 9; thenceto the clip 3 and by way of the'same to the pin 10; thence through'themass of solder 14 to the pin 12; thcnee to the clip 4 and from thelatter .to I

the s'ivh dfilioard. tioncan be traced through the other proi t'ectivedevices. When now an unduly strong current traverses the circuit, one orI more of the coils 15 will become heated to such an extent as tosoftenthe mass of solder 14 of the device of which such coil -is a art. Thissolder finally becomes so soft t at it loses its grip on the pins. l0,l1, l2 and. 13 and alsoloses frictional contact whereupon it drops tothe bottom of the barrel cartridge. vIn so doing it :breaks'theelectrical connection between. tlie pins 10 and 12 and thereby-opensthelcircuit betweenthese pins and the clips lj andst with l which theyare connected. Thus the circuit .becomes opened. between the line andthe '65 instrument in the device where this opera the coils 15 In asimilar way connec- -tion has occurred. If it occurs in more than'one'j'de'vice, the circuit becomes openedat a plurality of points,according to thenumber ofdevices operated. Any mass of solder 14,011fallingto thefbott'o m of. the device, rests upon the lower head.thereof and embeds the projecting ends of the'pins' 10, 11, -12 and-13in itself, thereby making connection electrically between said pins.

In the case of the devices C, G at the cen- 7&- tral station,this bringsabout a connection between the pins 11? and 13, and thereby, by meansof,the clips lf, and 5*, grounds the line side of the circuit and alsooperates the local alarm device In'the case-of so the-devices D, D atthe subscribers station, the line side of the circuit is connected withthe pins 11?, l1 and thus by means of, the clipset, t, the line iconnected with ground. .Thus it will be seen that the arrangement abovedescribed operates to open the circuit and also to ground the same ateither the subscribers or the central'station,- and also operates analarm device at the central station. x he grounding of the line will, asiseo customary in protective systems of this kind,; allow the fuses 22,-22 to'become blown. After the operation of any one of the devices thebarrel cartridge A thereof will be taken out/and turned upside down andre- 9 placed again in position between the clips of the device. Upondoing so the circuit is again restored to-its original condition and isready for another operation.

In Fig. 6 a slightly-modified form of de- 10? vice is shown, in asomewhat modified at ra-ngement. The protective devices F and Gr are thesame as the devices reviously described, except that in place 0 the wirecoils 15, a ring of graphite 35 is substituted as the 10. heating' orheat concentrating niediumor device. And these graphite rings makeconnection with the metal rods extending be-., tween the ends ofthe'barrel cartridge just as were connected therewith. .Two. line wires20* and 21 are shown extended from the switchboard to the subscribersin.- strument I). From these line wires conductors 3,6, 37, 36 and 37are extended in shunt and connected with therods 9 and 9 1 of the twoprotective ,devices, it being understood that suitable clips areprovided in the mormting of these devices for sucttpurpose. From. thecentral station protective device F, coifxductors 38 and 39 areextended, the same being connectedwith the middle pins 11 and 12 of thedevice. The conductor 39- extends to ground and at the same time withthe conductor 38 forms an alarm circuit including an alarm device 40 anda local battery 41. From the subscribers protectorG aconductor'42extends to ground, the same being connected with the pin11". In the mountings of both protectors, clipsfareprovided toconnect-T'the rods Qffanditlfiwiththe I them. operates, it opens theshunt in'which j it is included.

At the same time the lineis grounded "by each device-.so that the undulystrong current is shunted away from the instrument to round andif ofsufiicient intensity, the uses 22... 22 are operated. In addition thedevice F at the central station closes the alarmcircuitso as to call theat tentionof an attendant to the fact that the device has operated:

From the foregoing it will be seen that the deviceis exceedingly simpleand easy and inexpensiveto construct; thatit operates with efficiencyand effectiveness; and

that there is no necessity after operation of repairing the device orreplacing any of its parts, the barrel cartridge simply being inverted.It will also be seen that the device can be connected in any desiredmanner so as'to operate in series or in shunt or in other ways.

It will be understood that changes and modifications can be made both inthe protective device proper and in the circuit arrangements withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention. a 1

1; In an electriccircuit, a heat cartridge provided with abody or massof softenable or fusible material normally held in suspense but releasedunder an excess of heat. and means whereby the circuit conditions arechanged on the descent of said body or mass and then restored by areversal of the cartridge.

2. In an electric circuit, a reversiliileincinber provided therein witha mass of softenable or fusible material held normally in suspense butpermitted to fall under an excess of heat, meanswhereby the circuitconditions are changed on the descent of said mass. and. means wherebythe device is placed in conditioi for another operation on beingreversed after such descent.

.-'In apparatus of the class specified, a heat cartridge provided with abody or mass of softcnable or fusible material normally held in suspensebut released onthe passage of an unduly strong current, and meanswhereby the circuit conditionsare temporarily changed and then restoredon the descent of said body or mass and the reversal of the cartridge,substantially as described. nIii apparatus of the class specified,--areversible heat cartridge provided with a or mass of softenable orfusible mate ff'al held normally in suspense but perniitted "tn fall-onthe passage of an unduly strong current, means whereby tlie'cireuitconditions are changedby the descent of said body or mass, andmeanswhereby the device is placedin condition for another operation on beingreversedafter such descent. substantially as described.

In apparatus of the class specified, a.

heat cartridge comprisinga tubularfmemher containing a body or mass ofheat 'suscep-y tiblelmaterial, a heat concentrating device. associatedwith said cylinder, and contacts at the top and bottom of the tubularmember for making connection with the body or mass of heatsusceptiblelllfittllal filllbfiifllltially as described.

6. In apparatus ofthe class specified, a

heat cartridge comprising. 'a bodily reversible tubular member, aconductor entirely confined in said tubular memb r and held normally insuspense therein but dapted to be released to permit it to fall by amoderate excess of heat,a heat concentratingdevice associated withsucli'incinber, and contacts at the top and bottom of-said member formalt} ing connection witht-he conduct-or at either end of the tubularmember, substantially as described. I

. T. In apparatus of the class specified, a heat. cartridge comprising abodily reversi- -blc tubular member, a conductor comprising fusible orsoftenable material confined therein, a heat concentrating deviceassociated with said member, and contacts in the top and bottom of themember for making con nection with the soften'able' or fusible materialat either end of the tubularmember. substantiallyas described.

S. In apparatus ot the' class specified. the

combination of a tubular member having insulating head or end pieces.contacts in said head or end pieces projecting into the interior of thetubular member, 'a-body or mass of conducting material softenable-orfusible-under a moderate excess. of heat said ,body or .niass beingconfined within the.

interior of the tubular'member, and arranged to make connection with thecontacts pro-. ecting into the opposite ends of the same. and a'heatconcentrating device associated with said tubular.member.' substantiallyas described. v

9. In apparatus of ithe class specified, a

heat cartridge compris'il l g a tubular member having insulating head orend pieces, metallic contact-pins inserted in andprojecting through saidhead or end .pieces,..a body or mass of solder confined within thetubular member, and a heat concentrating device associated with saidtubular member, incoin- .bination withhnetallic clips orcontactsarranged to make connection with the outer.

ends of said contact pins or projections. substantially as described.

a 10. In apparatus of the class specified,- a2

heat cartridge comprising an insulating tube. insulating end piecesattached thereto, rods 9 and 9 extending between said end pieces, a heatconcentrating device arranged -ibont the insulating tube, a body ormass: of solder softenable material confined the rein, held confinedtherein, and metallic pinslO, ll, 12 normally in suspense'but releasedupon the and 13, and 10311, 12-and 13 inserted in, passage of an undulystrong current, and

the insulating end pieces and'projecting into means whereby said body ormass, on de the interior of the tube, substantially as described. I

ll. The combination with-an electric circuit, of protectivedevicesinoluded therein,

' normally in suspense but released upon theeach of saiddevicescomprising a reversible I heat'cartridge having a body or mass ofsoftenable material confined therein, held normally in suspense butreleased upon the passage of an unduly strong durrent, and means wherebysaid body or mass, on descending,

changes the condition. of said circuit, .sub-' stantially as described.

12. The combination with an electric circuit, of protective devices"included therein,

each of said devices comprising a reversible heat cartridge having abody or mass of .softenable material confined-therein, held normally'insuspense but released upon the passage of an unduly strong current, andmeans whereby said body or mass, on descending, opens said circuit,substantially as described- 1 y '13. The combination with an electriccircuit of protective devices included therein,

each-of said devices comprising. a reversible heat cartridgebaving abody or. mass of softenabl'e' material confined therein, held, normally.in. suspense but released-upon the passage of an unduly strong current,and

passage of an unduly strong current, and

means whereby said body'or mass, on deiscending, grounds said circuit,substantially as described.

15. The combination with an electric circuit, of protective devicesincluded therein, each of said devices comprising .a reversible heatcartridge having a body or mass of softenable material confined therein,held normally in suspense but released upon the.

passage of an unduly strong current, and means whereby said body ormass, on desoending, shunts said circuit, substantially as'described.

16. The combination with an electric cir .cuit, of protective devicesincluded therein,

. heat concentrating device w prising, a shell having a. bodilydescendible element entirely inclos'd therein and adapted to resolderitself similarly to its former operative-position in its descendedcondition.

18'. A device of the class described, having a bodily descendibleelement entirely confined therein'and arranged for release under undueexternal heatconditions, said device also resolderin itself similarly toits former operative condition in its descended position.

19. A device of the class s ecified, having a reversible member providewith a bodily descendible element which opcratively .re-.

solders itself in descended posltion, whereby on reversal of said membersaid element is in position to redescend said element being entirelyconfined within said member.

20. A device of the class specified, comprising a reversible heatcartridge provided with a bodily descendible' element which 0erativelyresolders-itself in descended position, whereby onreversal ofsaid cartridge said element is in position to redescend said elementbeing confined within said cartridge.

21.. A device of the class specified, comprising a heat cartridge havinga bodily descendible element entir'el confined therein which operativelyresol ers itself in .descended position, and also provided with a Iereby said heat concentrating device will release said ele- 'ment andpermit the same to descend, and

also whereby said, element will be resoldered in such descendedposition.

22. A reversible .device of the class described, having a movableelement entirely confined therein adapted in alternative positions toeffect like'circ'uit connections, and means whereby said element underthe infiuence of gravity is permitted to assume its alternative rents ofun ue strength through'said circuit connections.

In witness'whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name'this' 22nddayofDecemberA. D.,

Witnesses;

JNo, E. Brno, CARL D. Ronni.

sitlon upon the. passa 'e of cur RICHARD WIESINGER.

